Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital after struggling to speak at a meeting.

He is being treated for bronchitis.

A Vatican statement said:

“Pope Francis was admitted to the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue his treatment for bronchitis, which is still ongoing, in a hospital environment.”

Pope Francis, 88, has been pontiff since 2013.

His health has suffered over the last few years, in particular with lung infections.

As a young man he had pleurisy and had part of a lung removed.

Before being admitted to hospital the Pope had a meeting with Mark Thompson, chief executive officer of CNN news.

CNN later reported:

“The Pope was mentally alert but struggled to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties.”

Pope Francis recently told pilgrims at a weekly audience that he was suffering from a “strong cold,” which the Vatican later described as bronchitis.

The Pope suffered two falls at his Vatican residence in the last few weeks, bruising his chin in December and injuring his arm in January.

The Gemelli hospital in Rome has a special suite for treating Popes.

Francis spent nine days there in June 2023, when he had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia.